Worry comes from uncertainty, but uncertainty is not possible when you are the one leading the course of events. You can filter out unnecessary worry by taking charge in day-to-day scenarios. It might seem like there is not much room available to get into a leadership position, but the percentage of individuals who take that leap is quite low. Here I discuss the benefits of such a decision, as well as the inverted scenario in place.
Advantages Go Straight To The Leader
Once you take the initiative to run the show, it is up to you to assess the direction it heads. Your worry is reduced since the only uncertainty can come from competing thoughts in your own mind. Your blood pressure won’t rise when a change comes up, because you would be the one making that change. Your cortisol and norepinephrine levels won’t shoot up, because stress and fear don’t tend to originate from activities you purposefully choose to do. You will be able to manage your time, or as Celes from Embrace Living said in her podcast, lead yourself, because time plans will be in your control.
Leading Should Be The Only Option That Makes Sense
That should be enough of a reason to motivate you to take initiative in leading a group/team/pack. As your health is your number one priority, acting pusillanimously when the option to take charge arises may start to seem like it isn’t even an option anymore. Many people who you think of as risk-takers or bold leaders are at a point where they don’t even make a large decision to run the show, because they see all the negatives that come with the opposite, and make what is in their minds an obvious decision.
You want to get to the point where falling back and letting another person lead will feel as foolish as eating spoiled food or running into a wall. Until then, it will seem like some people are amazing at making the right decisions over and over.
The Inverted Scenario
The item that works counter-intuitively to our thoughts is that the ones who take the leadership risks and put themselves in the spotlight are actually at lower risk of problems, since they have a foundation behind them. We often think they are more likely to get the worst when problems arise, which is true, but they also have the ability to delegate or mitigate such problems up to the point where a manageable equilibrium state is reached.
The real risks are on the other end of the spectrum, where anxiousness about what the leaders will do or not do leads to the health issues discussed above, and the future remains an unknown entity since control has been given away. There is a reason government officials don’t give up their position unless they get a better one or have made a severe mistake, because they know that their position in essence provides them with all that they need to maintain longevity and vigor.
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Nice job busting up popular myths about leadership, Armen.
Specifically, that myth that “it is so hard to be the leader”, which you logically dismiss with the section “Advantages Go Straight To The Leader” and also the observation that most people in leadership positions don’t give them up willingly. If leading sucked so bad, you’d see many more leaders announcing “This blows! I quit.” But you don’t see much of that, ergo it is good to be the leader.
Karl: That is true, or else they have gotten used to the new position, and have forgotten what it is like to not be in it. Thanks for the addition.